Chapter XVI

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I know I've never done this before a chapter, but I want to underline again that there are potential trifggers in this story.
In this chapter there is, among other things, a needle. If you are uncomfortable with such things in any way, please do not read this story. Take care <3

Everything Russian is translated and I have no idea if it is correct :)

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The pistol shot echoed off the barren walls, the bullet drilling into deep layers of skin.
"Nat!"
Panicked, Natasha looked around, disoriented, the only thing she could make out was the dull pain of the impact and the figure in the shadows that had fired. Mechanically, she grabbed her gun and took the figure out with one well-aimed shot.
"Rogers, where are you? The whole thing is about to collapse!"
Steve was quickly at Natasha's side, ready to apply pressure to the bullet wound. "Nat, where are you hit?" Natasha looked at him, still in shock. Then she shook her head; she hadn't been hit. But the bullet hadn't gone into any of the walls or the floor either.
"Romanoff?"
Shallow, pain-filled breathing caused the two heads to whirl around.
Pools of blood formed on the cold concrete, little rushing, crimson torrents.
"Oh my God," Natasha breathed in shock. Crawling on all fours towards the wounded woman, she desperately pressed both hands to the wound. "Hey, hey, look at me." She took one hand from Nina's lower abdomen and gently patted her chalky cheeks. "Come on!" the pats became harder, almost blows.
With a panicked look in her eyes, she turned her head over her shoulder. "Steve, we have to get her out of here!"
"Come on!" Tony's voice rang through the comms one more time as Steve stepped forward without hesitation, gently pushing Natasha aside and lifting Nina up without any trouble. It was almost like déjà vu.

Explosions went off behind them as they barely made it to the exit. A hot blast wave hit the two in the back, sending him tumbling. Unable to hold on, Nina slipped from his grip and hit the floor. The impact and sudden pain made her eyes tear open.
In distress, the soldier grabbed the young woman rather ungently, clutched the roughly and sprinted beside Natasha towards the jet, away from the collapsing building.
"What the hell happened, what took you so long?" Tony's angry calls rang out to them as they ran up the ramp of the jet. "Where's Bruce?" shouted Steve towards him. The woman needed immediate medical attention or she wouldn't last long.
Wordlessly, Tony pointed behind the two newcomers to the Hulk, who was still standing in the woods breathing heavily. Natasha looked at him, "Fuck."
"Nat, you have to calm him down somehow, we're trying our best!" Gently they placed Nina on the cot, with Clint having already fetched several towels and handed them to Wanda who was sitting next to Nina.
-
Minutes passed and Wanda kept pressing more and more towels onto the never-ending bleeding. "I really don't want to rush, but it would be better if you hurry!" Nina's breaths had become increasingly shallow and the loss of blood was evident. Her eyelids were fluttering more and more slowly and remained closed for longer. This was exactly what Wanda noticed too, a piercing look and gesture signalling Clint to take her place on the flank.
She quickly slid to the head end of the gurney and patted Nina vigorously on the cheeks. "Pheobe, don't you dare give up now!" she spoke urgently. It worked a little, opening her eyes again, her pained gaze trying to meet Wanda's.
Her dry lips opened and the hint of a voice was heard. "Na-"
"Let Bruce go there!" Natasha's voice drowned out the whisper with ease. Wanda looked at the blonde again and spoke softly, "What is it, what do you want to say?"
Once again Nina mustered all her strength and opened her mouth. "I-" A strangled cry of pain broke her off again. Bruce had rudely begun to make makeshift repairs to the wound. The pain and the overwhelming dizziness pushed all other impressions aside. In order to suppress the screams of pain, Nina gritted her teeth. Up until the moment Bruce spread disinfectant over the edges of the wound, she succeeded. Low cries of agony ran through everyone's marrow.
"Aren't we almost there?!" shouted Nat pleadingly towards the cockpit. "No more than two minutes.", Tony returned. Immediately Natasha looked at Bruce, as if to ask if that was fast enough.
He paid no attention to her, instead looking up briefly at Steve and Bucky, "As soon as we get there one of you take her and get her to the Med immediately!"
Wordlessly the two agreed and Steve got ready to lift Nina up.
As soon as the landing pad of the compound came into view Bruce gave the nod to signal. Immediately Bucky grabbed the limp body and ran ahead of the others to the medical station.
As soon as she was placed on the treatment table, Bruce and Tony began to work.
Nat stood by, paralysed, until a warm hand on her shoulder made her wince. "Nat, she's in the best hands now." Without Clint waiting for a response, he gently manoeuvred her out of the room and towards the sleep quarters. Outside the door of Natasha's room he stopped. "You should take a shower and tend to your minor injuries, if you have any." Briefly she looked up at him and Clint inwardly flinched, he had never seen that look in her eyes before. It was a vulnerability Natasha so rarely showed. Once more he squeezed her arm tenderly before turning and disappearing.
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"Nat, what are you doing here again?" It wasn't 10 minutes before the Russian was showered and back outside the closed door of the hospital room. "How is she Steve?" The tall blonde looked down at the floor. "Steve?" she repeated a little more forcefully. "I don't know, Bruce and Tony are still in there."
Instantly Nat made moves to force the door open until Steve grabbed her and pushed her back. "Nat, they're doing the best they can, all we can do is wait."
Reluctantly she conceded defeat and took a seat on one of the armchairs in the room. A brief pause of terror ensued before Steve asked the question that had been on the tip of his tongue since the mission. "What exactly happened?"
"Someone fired a shot." Steve sighed. "I know, but the person wasn't aiming at Pheobe, was they?" His voice was warm and reassuring. Keeping his gaze fixed on the closed door, Nat shook his head. "Then what happened?" he asked again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She saw him."
"Saw who?"
"The Hydra agent. She saw him and knew he was going to hit me." Her voice lowered and petered out. "And then she pushed you to the ground.", Steve concluded. A silent nod was the reply. He was a little speechless, one question remained, "But why?"
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At last the door opened, instantly Natasha jumped up and walked towards Tony who stuck his head out of the crack. "Romanoff, could you come in and have a look for a minute?" She didn't need to be told twice. Tony just managed to step aside, preventing her from opening the door in his face.
There she lay, tiny and chalky pale, A wide blanket pulled up to her shoulders.
"Look at what?" was all Natasha choked out, not positively surprised by the sight. Instead of answering, Tony stepped forward and beside the bed. His hand was already hovering over the covers when he turned to Nat once more. "Natasha, could you lift your shirt for a moment?"
Confused, she pushed the hem of her shirt up to just above her belly button. The scar of a bullet wound was visible and another, a line from her belly button down. Feeling uncomfortable, she quickly pushed the shirt back down and looked questioningly at Tony.
"Just as I thought," he murmured. Carefully, he took back the blanket and placed it double over Nina's legs. The area from her hip, to her ribs was exposed, showing the stitched and bandaged wound. With a wave, Tony motioned for the Russian to come closer. Hesitantly, she stepped forward and stood beside him, bent over the unconscious body.
"We noticed something when we were stitching the wound.", Tony spoke softly. "Could it be that...". Instead of continuing, he pointed to the intricate white line of the scar on the lower body.
Natasha gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. "So it's true?" Tony's voice rang out to her as if from a distance. Tiny tears stood in her eyes as she nodded. Without saying anything Tony grabbed a chair and gently pushed in the back of Natasha's knees, without resistance she settled down, her eyes still on the fragile person in the bed. Tony realised he wasn't going to get any more out of her, so he gently patted her shoulder before leaving the room. Perhaps to continue tinkering with his suit in his lab.

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